Perry JV wins; Panther freshmen rally

Perry shut out the Creston/O-M JV 17-0 Monday night, after the Panther freshmen fought from behind to squeeze out an 8-6 victory over the Bluejay freshmen Friday night.

Coach Kevin Cooper said the Panther JV faced an uphill battle after a slow start Monday night on the Bluejays’ field. On top of that, freshman Brody Frain was called into quarterback duty in the fourth quarter after sophomore Josh Reed was injured making a tackle. Information on Reed’s status was not available at press time.

Reed is the second high school quarterback injured in the past four days, as varsity backup Alex Nielsen injured an ankle Friday. That leaves senior starter Brandon Phipps and freshmen Frain and Seth Thompson until the team’s health improves.

The Panther JV’s offense had trouble mounting consistent drives against Perry, which scored on its first possession to go in front, 7-0.

Just 4.2 seconds before halftime, Perry scored on a 50-yard pass play to take a 14-0 lead into the break. A 25-yard field goal in the third quarter accounted for the game’s final points.

“Tonight was a tough night for us against a very good Perry team,” Cooper said. “We started out slow in the first quarter and it was an uphill battle the rest of the game. I felt like we stepped it up in the second half, and had our chances on their end of the field, but just couldn’t convert.”

Creston/O-M (1-3) hosts Harlan next Monday.

Close game

Friday’s freshman battle was one of frustration in the first half for the Panthers.

The Bluejays used a ball-control offense to dominate possession time and take a 6-0 lead into halftime.

At the break, Creston/O-M running back Chase Shiltz had eight carries for 25 yards. He followed in the second half with 15 carries for 181 yards and a touchdown.

Shiltz scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter, and added the two-point conversion run for the winning margin.

Coach Jon Thomson said the defense did a better job of halting Perry’s inside running attack in the second half, and the offense made adjustments, too. Some personnel changes had to be made with the absence of Cody Tanner, Quinton Scadden and Kyle Somers, who suffered a neck injury earlier in the week.

“We had some kids play in some spots they don’t normally play,” Thomson said. “Tyler Peters played a great game at our other Z (wide receiver) position. He had a catch and some great blocks. Kadon Hulett was moved from guard to center. Keaton Eslinger, coming off a hand injury, really stepped things up at guard and nose position with great kickout blocks and key tackles in the backfield. Will Gordon stepped into the other guard position.”

Overall, Thomson said a few ill-timed penalties prevented the team from a couple of other potential scoring chances as the Panthers improved to 5-0.

“Harlan is our next target, and we really don’t need any more reasons to get fired up than that,” he said.